Day of Brick Gothic

Several German, Polish and Danish cities along the European Route of Brick Gothic will celebrate the Day of Brick Gothic on Saturday, 19 June 2021, and present a diverse programme revolving around Brick Gothic.

They will show which treasures their architecture has to offer, which ideas they have to get visitors interested in Brick Gothic and how they maintain and convey our cultural heritage. From exhibitions, concerts and special tours for children and adults, to exciting talks, discussions with experts or a varied family afternoon – the Day of Brick Gothic offers the right programme for every visitor. The history of the Middle Ages, the Hanseatic League and Brick Gothic is brought to life on this day.

The member cities of the European Route of Brick Gothic combine the shared cultural heritage of Brick Gothic – the Medieval Brick Gothic architecture predominantly in the Baltic Sea region, which they aim to convey together to the general public. An important shared goal is to inspire people for conserving this cultural heritage.

“Can you imagine the cities in the Baltic Sea region without Brick Gothic – for instance Gdańsk or Lübeck without their St. Mary’s Churches, or Roskilde without its cathedral? The cities would look completely different: these buildings form a cultural landscape and shape the identity of a city. They even have a symbolic character. The terrible fire of Notre Dame reminds us that we cannot take our Gothic buildings, our cultural heritage, for granted,” explains Dr Edith Kowalski, art historian and executive director of the European Route of Brick Gothic. “Only people who are acquainted with our cultural landscape are prepared to commit themselves to its conservation and continue to visit these places.”

The special day declared by the European Route of Brick Gothic is held throughout Europe every year on the third Saturday in June and raises awareness of the cultural heritage of Brick Gothic. The occasion for the first Day of Brick Gothic in 2018 was the European Year of Cultural Heritage, which was celebrated across Europe with the idea of “Sharing Heritage”. In Germany, Denmark and Poland, the Day of Brick Gothic is realised through the combined effort of representatives of monument preservation, science, the Church, tourism and administration and is implemented in cooperation with the European Route of Brick Gothic.

The 14 participating cities in 2021 are: Bad Doberan, Burg Stargard, Chełmno (PL), Chorin, Frankfurt/Oder, Gdańsk (PL), Greifswald, Güstrow, Lübeck, Lüneburg, Olsztyn (PL), Płock (PL), Roskilde (DK) and Wolgast. All participating cities and the varied programme of the day are available at www.eurob.org.

On this occasion in Gdańsk we offer a virtual walks.